A Biomimetic Microfluidic Selection Platform Providing Improved Sperm Quality Metrics Compared to Swim-Up

Abstract

Sperm Selection is an essential component of all Assisted Reproductive Treatments (ART), and is by far and large the most neglected step in the ART work ow when it comes to technological innovation. Conventional sperm selection methodologies typically produce a higher total number of sperm with variable motilities, morphologies and levels of DNA integrity; Gold-standard techniques Density Gradient Centrifugation (DGC) and Swim Up (SU) have been proven to induce DNA fragmentation through the introduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during centrifugation. Here, we demonstrate a 3D printed, biologically inspired micro uidic sperm selection device (MSSP) that utilizes multiple methods to simulate a sperms journey towards selection. Sperm are rst selected based on their motility and boundary following behavior, then on their expression of apoptotic markers, yielding over 68% more motile sperm than previously reported methods within a lower incidence of DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. Sperm from the MSSP also demonstrated higher motile sperm recovery after cryopreservation than SU or neat semen. Experiments were conducted side-by-side against conventional SU methods using human semen (n = 33) and showed over an 85% improvement in DNA integrity with an average 90% reduction in sperm apoptosis. These results demonstrate an easy-to-use platform for sperm selection mimicking the biological function of the female reproductive tract during conception. CapsuleMicro uidic sperm selection is capable of e ciently and consistently preparing sperm, resulting in signi cantly lower DNA fragmentation, lower apoptosis, better cryosurvival, and higher-grade motility compared with the SU method.

A Modified-Herringbone Micromixer for Assessing Zebrafish Sperm (MAGS)

“…Microdevices have been widely used in human fertility research and sperm-related disease diagnosis, with commercial products approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Most applications for microfluidic devices are focused on the isolation of sperm from cellular debris [ 11 , 12 , 13 ] or the selection of motile sperm for subsequent in vitro fertilization [ 14 , 15 ]. However, the potential of microfluidic chips to assist sperm quality analysis has not been well recognized in the field of aquaculture and fisheries.…”